There’s a lot of advice that you just shouldn’t take, and these muffins are a prime example. On my long run the other day I realized that I hardly ever bake muffins anymore, and I’m not sure why that is, because there’s really no better way to start your day. (Unless you’re eating one of those giant ones with 80 grams of fat…then I can think of a lot of better ways to start your day.)
I knew we had carrots, apples, and walnuts, which all seemed like reasonable things to include in a muffin recipe. We also had a jar of molasses, which I wanted to try and use in place of white sugar (because it’s slightly healthier – there’s some iron and calcium in it). A little googling told me that you shouldn’t replace more than half the sugar in a recipe with molasses, but I refused to take that advice. I was fully prepared for these muffins to be a disaster, but they’re not! They’re soft and sweet, and remind me of gingerbread, but with apple, carrot, and whole wheat flour, they’re a lot healthier.
Recipe:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/3 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1 apple, peeled and grated
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup oil
Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners, and preheat the oven to 350 F.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix with a wire whisk.
Stir the eggs, molasses, apple, carrot, walnuts, and oil together in a medium bowl, then pour into the flour mixture.
Stir gently with a wooden spoon until mixed, then divide among muffin tins and bake for about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
These look delicious! They look like they’re so full of flavor.
oh, YESSSSS! I love molasses. And in muffins, well, what’s not to like. Except, of course, the effect on my hips, because I don’t take long runs. Sigh…
Thanks for this recipe!
I made a similar recipe awhile back and the combo of apples and carrots was so yummy! We’re reducing our sugar as well, so I love the idea of using molasses. These look wonderful!
ohhh i can’t wait to try these!
I am so delighted this recipe was profiled on SeriousEats! I made these last night for my fiance (I make him a batch of muffins every week so he has breakfast-to-go; I am so much happier sending him to work with a muffin versus his previous breakfast of champions: pop tarts) and he LOVES them. The apple and carrot provide a little light sweetness on top of the depth of the molasses, and the whole wheat flour is a nice base to start the day right. Thank you, thank you! Finally, a muffin I can rotate with the standard white-whole-wheat-blueberry
These sound delicious! With all the wholesome ingredients of whole wheat flour, apples, and carrots, these are muffins I can feel good about baking and eating-thanks for sharing!
Great recipe! I altered slightly to make vegan and added banana and zucchini that needed to find a home. The molasses really makes them moist and just sweet enough. Will make another batch to take to work-not enough left from original try